The big hotel chains are
seemingly addicted to adding new brands to their portfolio, making it more difficult for those that have been around for awhile to stand out.
Brands at the top end have it especially hard as their luxury price tags make standing out from the crowd a necessity, and over the last couple of years Hilton's Conrad Hotels & Resorts has done a pretty good job of positioning itself as a purveyor of
"smart luxury."In its latest attempt to differentiate, Conrad invited a bunch of startups to Hilton's new Innovation Gallery in McLean, Virginia with the hope of unearthing the next great piece of guest innovation technology.
Of course, not all the companies in contributor Laura Powell's story will make the grade — at least as far as the hospitality industry is concerned — but Conrad's willingness to entertain new ideas should be applauded.